Michigan State senior receiver Bennie Fowler was targeted often, but it was not his best night with three catches for 34 yards.Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

EAST LANSING — One of the things Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio liked most about his football team last season was that they showed up.

Again and again, it was a team that wouldn't quit amid all of the heart-breaking losses and adversity, some of which was self-induced amid a 7-6 season.

In the 2013 season opener -- a 26-13 win over Western Michigan on Friday night -- Spartans senior receiver Bennie Fowler had as tough of a game as anyone, making only three catches despite being target 12 times, dropping three passes and getting his hands on two others he couldn't reel in.

But Fowler showed up and faced a media corps that swarmed him like a Pat Narduzzi defense.

The first question was open-ended: How would Fowler assess the receiver play?

"We were kind of sloppy, first-half jitters, we had some drops in there and things like that, but we go in a rhythm, JLang (Jeremy Langford) was running the ball well, Connor (Cook) threw the ball well and Maxwell threw the ball well,'' Fowler said. "We have to make some improvement from Game One to Game Two … I thought we were kind of sloppy.''

Some members of the media offered Fowler excuses: Was the ball too wet? Were the bright lights from the scoreboard a distraction?

To his credit, Fowler declined to use the circumstances as an excuse.

"We just have to get the jitters out, we caught the ball better in the second half,'' he said. "It's disappointing, but we have to move forward and stay positive.''

Were all of the drops — at least five, and there were three more receivers got their hands on — surprising to Fowler?

"Very,'' he said.

The best defensive for the Michigan State receivers is that their timing with the quarterbacks is likely off. The downside of the Spartans splitting repetitions among four quarterbacks is the receivers must adjust to the nuances from four different QBs instead of learning one.

Here's a look at how many times each receiver was targeted in Friday's game (a couple of times penalties negated an official attempt, but the numbers show the intent), as well as a breakdown of the passes Michigan State receivers could have caught.

Targets, catches-yards, QB attempts

WR Bennie Fowler (12), 3-34

Maxwell seven, Cook five

WR Aaron Burbridge (7), 4-16

Maxwell five, Cook two

WR Keith Mumphery (6), 4-24

Maxwell two, Cook four

WR Macgarrett Kings (4), 1-14

Maxwell three, Cook one

TE Andrew Gleichart (2), 1-7

Cook two

WR Tony Lippett (2), 0-0

Maxwell one, Cook one

WR DeAnthony Arnett (2), 1-7

Maxwell two

RB Jeremy Langford (2), 2-7

Maxwell two

RB Riley Bullough (1), 1-7

Cook one

WR Andre Sims (1), 0-0

Maxwell

DROPS AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

(Most flagrant drops have higher number, scale 1-10)

First Quarter

First-and-10 at MSU 45, Maxwell deep sideline to Fowler, defender running stride for stride, Fowler can't go up and make play on ball. Drop Scale 3

Second-and-10 at MSU 45: Maxwell slant to Fowler, who lets ball get deep into him and therefor defender to make a play. Drop Scale 7

First-and-10 at WMU 49: MSU Cook fires into traffic to Fowler, who got his hands on it before defender stripped. Drop Scale 2

Second Quarter

Third-and-10 at MSU 36: Cook fires slightly behind Fowler, but Fowler had time to adjust and ball deflects off his hands. Drop Scale 8